I will agree with those that have said that this material is waaaaay more interesting than One Nite Alone. Because of the awesomeness of this set, the 82 piano rehearsal, and all the piano medleys from the live concerts, I was disappointed with ONA and still don't like it to this day. If I had to rank all of his albums, I would put ONA on the bottom, unless Kamasutra was on the list, then ONA would be second from the bottom. Just sayin'...

I've always loved this rehearsal though, and it will be nice to get it in the best quality possible, even if it is a bizarre and arguably poor choice for a release. Bring it on.

Only the one(s) that have the source tape, or a close generation to it, know the answer to that. The original bootlegs sounded horrible (while the material was so good I listened to it anyway), recent (last decade or so) "rehash" releases have sounded much better and provided a much more enjoyable listening experience. The single released today sounds much better even than those.

I will agree with those that have said that this material is waaaaay more interesting than One Nite Alone. Because of the awesomeness of this set, the 82 piano rehearsal, and all the piano medleys from the live concerts, I was disappointed with ONA and still don't like it to this day. If I had to rank all of his albums, I would put ONA on the bottom, unless Kamasutra was on the list, then ONA would be second from the bottom. Just sayin'...

I've always loved this rehearsal though, and it will be nice to get it in the best quality possible, even if it is a bizarre and arguably poor choice for a release. Bring it on.

Think of it like this: it can only get better. [Edited 6/7/18 14:27pm]

I may disagree with everything you say, but I will defend your right to say it.

As someone who has collected Prince bootlegs for 30 years I will never complain that I already have material on an official release, nor will such a factor ever keep me from purchasing an official release.

I will share my opinion when when they make questionable choices as to what to release. I will point out when the quality of the release could be better. I will complain when they tinker with or "finish" material. I will be distrustful when they are not clear and honest about the source or posthumous tinkering. I will get bent out of shape if all they release are things we've heard and I don't get to hear the stuff we haven't heard until I'm old and feeble because they think nobody's interested in anything but the 80s.

But no, I won't hold my having already heard something on bootlleg against an official release. That's on me. I cheated and I'm glad I did. I would absolutely NOT trade 3 decades of bootleg enjoyment for the opportunity to hear the official releases fresh. No way. I'd do it all over again. And to be fair, I feel obligated to purchase the official releases if I've enjoyed the bootleg for decades... hopefully with an upgrade in quality.

Same here.

.

I don't mind them releasing previously bootlegged material: it has to be released sooner or later and it's even better when there's an improvement in sound quality, and it will obviously be the case here.

.

Putting aside that a small minority of hadcore fans have had this recording for years, I find such a release respectful of Prince's legacy: this is an intimate recording, something that's pretty revealing of his creative process, those who don't want to pay for it because they had the bootleg can stream it or download it for free, and those who have never heard it are likely to enjoy it greatly. I actually find this choice of a release more respecftful of Prince's musicality and legacy than if they'd tried to compile a sort of "greatest unreleased hits" album, or to release something as commercial as can be. Releasing this establishes that Prince should be seen as a serious, creative and original musician, as opposed to a mere one-man hit factory. It promotes the Prince of HCUDCMA and ONA, as opposed to the Prince of Kiss and Cream, and I'm down with it.

.

Clearly, this is not a release that is going to change our perception of Prince's music, it might not be a release hardcore fans will listen over and over for weeks and weeks because we're already familiar with it, but given the praise this bootleg has received over the years, given how it's been a fans favorite for 30 years despite its poor sound quality, I fail to see why it wouldn't deserve a proper release.

.

As for those controversies regarding titles containing the words Ass, Fuck or Cocaine, I find them rather disturbing from a community of fans who embraced a musician who composed Head, Sister, Gett Off, The Black Album and Darling Nikki, who admired those controversial aspects of his work and spent years in dread that he'd censor his own lyrics in future remasters. Have we now become so old that we wish the Fucker to be beeped on Sexy MF, and that we are uncomfortable with Prince being politically incorrect? Weren't we freaks and hippies, all enamored with how daring Prince was? Didn't we all find it deliciously cool when we were young and he'd appear on a major MTV program with his (apparently, we now know it was a trick) bare bottom? Regardless of his change of mind regarding overtly sexual lyrics, what he recorded at an earlier stage should be seen as what it is: his work at an earlier stage, and releasing it does not nullify the man he'd become at a later stage of his life, or the convictions he then held. Similarly, the recreational use of cocaine has nothing to do with the medical use of painkillers, and just because some people are too ignorant to make the difference doesn't mean we should bend to their ignorance and be uncomfortable with a song talking about cocaine (particularly since Prince wasn't using cocaine anyway, even in 1983).

.

My only problem with posthumous releases so far have been related to the lack of transparancy regarding sources, tinkering with the material, not being careful with quality control and the lack of communication with the fans' community. There have been problems of one sort of another with each and every posthumous release so far, and as someone who cherishes Prince's legacy, I'm upset about it and the reason I'm being vocal about it is because I hope those things can change over time.

As someone who has collected Prince bootlegs for 30 years I will never complain that I already have material on an official release, nor will such a factor ever keep me from purchasing an official release.

I will share my opinion when when they make questionable choices as to what to release. I will point out when the quality of the release could be better. I will complain when they tinker with or "finish" material. I will be distrustful when they are not clear and honest about the source or posthumous tinkering. I will get bent out of shape if all they release are things we've heard and I don't get to hear the stuff we haven't heard until I'm old and feeble because they think nobody's interested in anything but the 80s.

But no, I won't hold my having already heard something on bootlleg against an official release. That's on me. I cheated and I'm glad I did. I would absolutely NOT trade 3 decades of bootleg enjoyment for the opportunity to hear the official releases fresh. No way. I'd do it all over again. And to be fair, I feel obligated to purchase the official releases if I've enjoyed the bootleg for decades... hopefully with an upgrade in quality.

Same here.

.

I don't mind them releasing previously bootlegged material: it has to be released sooner or later and it's even better when there's an improvement in sound quality, and it will obviously be the case here.

.

Putting aside that a small minority of hadcore fans have had this recording for years, I find such a release respectful of Prince's legacy: this is an intimate recording, something that's pretty revealing of his creative process, those who don't want to pay for it because they had the bootleg can stream it or download it for free, and those who have never heard it are likely to enjoy it greatly. I actually find this choice of a release more respecftful of Prince's musicality and legacy than if they'd tried to compile a sort of "greatest unreleased hits" album, or to release something as commercial as can be. Releasing this establishes that Prince should be seen as a serious, creative and original musician, as opposed to a mere one-man hit factory. It promotes the Prince of HCUDCMA and ONA, as opposed to the Prince of Kiss and Cream, and I'm down with it.

.

Clearly, this is not a release that is going to change our perception of Prince's music, it might not be a release hardcore fans will listen over and over for weeks and weeks because we're already familiar with it, but given the praise this bootleg has received over the years, given how it's been a fans favorite for 30 years despite its poor sound quality, I fail to see why it wouldn't deserve a proper release.

.

As for those controversies regarding titles containing the words Ass, Fuck or Cocaine, I find them rather disturbing from a community of fans who embraced a musician who composed Head, Sister, Gett Off, The Black Album and Darling Nikki, who admired those controversial aspects of his work and spent years in dread that he'd censor his own lyrics in future remasters. Have we now become so old that we wish the Fucker to be beeped on Sexy MF, and that we are uncomfortable with Prince being politically incorrect? Weren't we freaks and hippies, all enamored with how daring Prince was? Didn't we all find it deliciously cool when we were young and he'd appear on a major MTV program with his (apparently, we now know it was a trick) bare bottom? Regardless of his change of mind regarding overtly sexual lyrics, what he recorded at an earlier stage should be seen as what it is: his work at an earlier stage, and releasing it does not nullify the man he'd become at a later stage of his life, or the convictions he then held. Similarly, the recreational use of cocaine has nothing to do with the medical use of painkillers, and just because some people are too ignorant to make the difference doesn't mean we should bend to their ignorance and be uncomfortable with a song talking about cocaine (particularly since Prince wasn't using cocaine anyway, even in 1983).

.

My only problem with posthumous releases so far have been related to the lack of transparancy regarding sources, tinkering with the material, not being careful with quality control and the lack of communication with the fans' community. There have been problems of one sort of another with each and every posthumous release so far, and as someone who cherishes Prince's legacy, I'm upset about it and the reason I'm being vocal about it is because I hope those things can change over time.

I've always loved this rehearsal though, and it will be nice to get it in the best quality possible, even if it is a bizarre and arguably poor choice for a release. Bring it on.

djThunderfunk said:

It's great material and I have a collection to maintain. That won't stop me from sharing my opinions regarding what a poor choice this is though.

Just admit it, dj, you like it... isn't that enough?

Why should the first posthumous release be something that will sell a million copies, so long as WB knows what they're getting into (which I suspect they do), in this case an interesting, quality performance of largely unheard material? I don't think they'll cancel whatever eventual plans they have for '1999 Deluxe" just because the whole world didn't buy this odd little release...

I’m feeling incrediblely grateful for this release. It’s no coincidence that my favorite posthumous releases have been “Father’s Song”, “Electric Intercourse”, and now this. Prince has some awesome control over the piano. I’m looking forward to hearing the rest of it.

That being said, $40 dollars is a lot for a deluxe package of a small LP like this. Are the deluxe editions of 1999 and Sign O’ the Times gonna be $75?

As someone who has collected Prince bootlegs for 30 years I will never complain that I already have material on an official release, nor will such a factor ever keep me from purchasing an official release.

I will share my opinion when when they make questionable choices as to what to release. I will point out when the quality of the release could be better. I will complain when they tinker with or "finish" material. I will be distrustful when they are not clear and honest about the source or posthumous tinkering. I will get bent out of shape if all they release are things we've heard and I don't get to hear the stuff we haven't heard until I'm old and feeble because they think nobody's interested in anything but the 80s.

But no, I won't hold my having already heard something on bootlleg against an official release. That's on me. I cheated and I'm glad I did. I would absolutely NOT trade 3 decades of bootleg enjoyment for the opportunity to hear the official releases fresh. No way. I'd do it all over again. And to be fair, I feel obligated to purchase the official releases if I've enjoyed the bootleg for decades... hopefully with an upgrade in quality.

We don’t mourn artists because we knew them. We mourn them because they helped us know ourselves.

After all the hype from the Spotify guy I had myself convinced he had found an unreleased mastered 1983 Prince record with stone cold killers like Purple Music, Irresistible Bitch etc so a bit underwhelmed.

This release and PR deluxe does bode well for the future though as it shows they are willing to release his music in whatever form they find it. My main concern was always them trying to modernise or "fix" the demos so this makes me positive about future reissues.

We have heard nothing of the unreleased Revolution, Vanity and Time albums P was touting in that Rolling Stone interview so either he was trolling or there is some master plan at work.

I don't mind them releasing previously bootlegged material: it has to be released sooner or later and it's even better when there's an improvement in sound quality, and it will obviously be the case here.

.

Putting aside that a small minority of hadcore fans have had this recording for years, I find such a release respectful of Prince's legacy: this is an intimate recording, something that's pretty revealing of his creative process, those who don't want to pay for it because they had the bootleg can stream it or download it for free, and those who have never heard it are likely to enjoy it greatly. I actually find this choice of a release more respecftful of Prince's musicality and legacy than if they'd tried to compile a sort of "greatest unreleased hits" album, or to release something as commercial as can be. Releasing this establishes that Prince should be seen as a serious, creative and original musician, as opposed to a mere one-man hit factory. It promotes the Prince of HCUDCMA and ONA, as opposed to the Prince of Kiss and Cream, and I'm down with it.

.

Clearly, this is not a release that is going to change our perception of Prince's music, it might not be a release hardcore fans will listen over and over for weeks and weeks because we're already familiar with it, but given the praise this bootleg has received over the years, given how it's been a fans favorite for 30 years despite its poor sound quality, I fail to see why it wouldn't deserve a proper release.

.

As for those controversies regarding titles containing the words Ass, Fuck or Cocaine, I find them rather disturbing from a community of fans who embraced a musician who composed Head, Sister, Gett Off, The Black Album and Darling Nikki, who admired those controversial aspects of his work and spent years in dread that he'd censor his own lyrics in future remasters. Have we now become so old that we wish the Fucker to be beeped on Sexy MF, and that we are uncomfortable with Prince being politically incorrect? Weren't we freaks and hippies, all enamored with how daring Prince was? Didn't we all find it deliciously cool when we were young and he'd appear on a major MTV program with his (apparently, we now know it was a trick) bare bottom? Regardless of his change of mind regarding overtly sexual lyrics, what he recorded at an earlier stage should be seen as what it is: his work at an earlier stage, and releasing it does not nullify the man he'd become at a later stage of his life, or the convictions he then held. Similarly, the recreational use of cocaine has nothing to do with the medical use of painkillers, and just because some people are too ignorant to make the difference doesn't mean we should bend to their ignorance and be uncomfortable with a song talking about cocaine (particularly since Prince wasn't using cocaine anyway, even in 1983).

.

My only problem with posthumous releases so far have been related to the lack of transparancy regarding sources, tinkering with the material, not being careful with quality control and the lack of communication with the fans' community. There have been problems of one sort of another with each and every posthumous release so far, and as someone who cherishes Prince's legacy, I'm upset about it and the reason I'm being vocal about it is because I hope those things can change over time.

I've always loved this rehearsal though, and it will be nice to get it in the best quality possible, even if it is a bizarre and arguably poor choice for a release. Bring it on.

djThunderfunk said:

It's great material and I have a collection to maintain. That won't stop me from sharing my opinions regarding what a poor choice this is though.

Just admit it, dj, you like it... isn't that enough?

Why should the first posthumous release be something that will sell a million copies, so long as WB knows what they're getting into (which I suspect they do), in this case an interesting, quality performance of largely unheard material? I don't think they'll cancel whatever eventual plans they have for '1999 Deluxe" just because the whole world didn't buy this odd little release...

Of course I like it. Is it "enough"? Considering some of the many better choices they could make? That's debatable...

Why should the first posthumous release be something that will sell a million copies, so long as WB knows what they're getting into (which I suspect they do), in this case an interesting, quality performance of largely unheard material? I don't think they'll cancel whatever eventual plans they have for '1999 Deluxe" just because the whole world didn't buy this odd little release...

Of course I like it. Is it "enough"? Considering some of the many better choices they could make? That's debatable...

Fair enough. And I agree with most (if not all) of what you and Databank have said.

I guess I was just expecting much worse. (More live versions of "I Would Die 4 U," alternate versions of "Dance Electric," etc.) Hell, I'd take this release even over a pristine version of "Cosmic Day" and many of the other officially-unreleased songs that collectors have had access to for many years.

This release just bodes pretty well, in my opinion, for future releases that aren't necessarily geared towards what the fans want or expect... I hope for more of these smaller, "off-hand" examples of Prince's genius, and would rather have broader access to them than much of the bootlegged material that's out there.

As someone who has collected Prince bootlegs for 30 years I will never complain that I already have material on an official release, nor will such a factor ever keep me from purchasing an official release.

I will share my opinion when when they make questionable choices as to what to release. I will point out when the quality of the release could be better. I will complain when they tinker with or "finish" material. I will be distrustful when they are not clear and honest about the source or posthumous tinkering. I will get bent out of shape if all they release are things we've heard and I don't get to hear the stuff we haven't heard until I'm old and feeble because they think nobody's interested in anything but the 80s.

But no, I won't hold my having already heard something on bootlleg against an official release. That's on me. I cheated and I'm glad I did. I would absolutely NOT trade 3 decades of bootleg enjoyment for the opportunity to hear the official releases fresh. No way. I'd do it all over again. And to be fair, I feel obligated to purchase the official releases if I've enjoyed the bootleg for decades... hopefully with an upgrade in quality.

Same here.

.

I don't mind them releasing previously bootlegged material: it has to be released sooner or later and it's even better when there's an improvement in sound quality, and it will obviously be the case here.

.

Putting aside that a small minority of hadcore fans have had this recording for years, I find such a release respectful of Prince's legacy: this is an intimate recording, something that's pretty revealing of his creative process, those who don't want to pay for it because they had the bootleg can stream it or download it for free, and those who have never heard it are likely to enjoy it greatly. I actually find this choice of a release more respecftful of Prince's musicality and legacy than if they'd tried to compile a sort of "greatest unreleased hits" album, or to release something as commercial as can be. Releasing this establishes that Prince should be seen as a serious, creative and original musician, as opposed to a mere one-man hit factory. It promotes the Prince of HCUDCMA and ONA, as opposed to the Prince of Kiss and Cream, and I'm down with it.

.

Clearly, this is not a release that is going to change our perception of Prince's music, it might not be a release hardcore fans will listen over and over for weeks and weeks because we're already familiar with it, but given the praise this bootleg has received over the years, given how it's been a fans favorite for 30 years despite its poor sound quality, I fail to see why it wouldn't deserve a proper release.

.

As for those controversies regarding titles containing the words Ass, Fuck or Cocaine, I find them rather disturbing from a community of fans who embraced a musician who composed Head, Sister, Gett Off, The Black Album and Darling Nikki, who admired those controversial aspects of his work and spent years in dread that he'd censor his own lyrics in future remasters. Have we now become so old that we wish the Fucker to be beeped on Sexy MF, and that we are uncomfortable with Prince being politically incorrect? Weren't we freaks and hippies, all enamored with how daring Prince was? Didn't we all find it deliciously cool when we were young and he'd appear on a major MTV program with his (apparently, we now know it was a trick) bare bottom? Regardless of his change of mind regarding overtly sexual lyrics, what he recorded at an earlier stage should be seen as what it is: his work at an earlier stage, and releasing it does not nullify the man he'd become at a later stage of his life, or the convictions he then held. Similarly, the recreational use of cocaine has nothing to do with the medical use of painkillers, and just because some people are too ignorant to make the difference doesn't mean we should bend to their ignorance and be uncomfortable with a song talking about cocaine (particularly since Prince wasn't using cocaine anyway, even in 1983).

.

My only problem with posthumous releases so far have been related to the lack of transparancy regarding sources, tinkering with the material, not being careful with quality control and the lack of communication with the fans' community. There have been problems of one sort of another with each and every posthumous release so far, and as someone who cherishes Prince's legacy, I'm upset about it and the reason I'm being vocal about it is because I hope those things can change over time.

This release established the artistic side of Prince. It is good positioning of him as an artist. Most people do not even know that Prince ever did recordings such as these. They seem him as a another 1980s singing dancing front man for other peoples music and production (like Michael Jackson) rather than an artist who did it all.

There is time for collections of unreleased songs. But these are more likely to be criticized as songs that were not 'good enough' for released albums.

I relistened to the boot today and I have to say, if there is a similar increase in quality for the rest of the tracks as there was for Mary Don't You Weep, it'll be like an entirely new album. I hear so much more in the officialy released Mary Don't You Weep. The sound quality on the rehearsal in Purple Rush 2 was just trash

I relistened to the boot today and I have to say, if there is a similar increase in quality for the rest of the tracks as there was for Mary Don't You Weep, it'll be like an entirely new album. I hear so much more in the officialy released Mary Don't You Weep. The sound quality on the rehearsal in Purple Rush 2 was just trash

This was released on bootleg more than 20 yeas ago. It is only 35 minutes. and $15.99 on CD. The reason that newer material is not being released is yhat Tital owns the newer material. This is a warner Bros. release. Why did no new album come out to day to celreate waht woul have been Prince's 60th birthday?